This invention relates generally to apparatus utilized for rigidly positioning an automobile or vehicle for the performance of body repair work thereon, and specifically pertains to a support assembly for a vehicle body which is adapted to be securely floor-anchored and to grip directly to the lateral lower edges of the vehicle body and maintain it in working position while forces are applied thereagainst in areas of the body undergoing repair.
In the prior art, various structural arrangements have been devised for supportably securing an automobile body in an elevated position to facilitate the performance of body repair work for frame corrective measures thereon. Typical apparatus designed for such function is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,050,287; 4,281,532; 4,289,016; and 4,463,937. The prior art also discloses various selectively positionable devices for directly clamping to the vehicle body and securing it in working position. Such devices are disclosed, for example, in several of the aforementioned patents and also in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,296,624; 4,344,314; and 4,400,969.
Elaborate and relatively costly equipment for use in vehicle body repair does not normally find its way into the small or medium sized body repair shop. Vehicle body support systems of the prior art are generally quite expensive and out of reach to the typical independent repair shop operator.
Other less elaborate equipment has been devised for securing an automobile body in position to withstand the application of pushing and pulling forces involved in body straightening work which lack the versatility of more elaborate systems but are comparatively less expensive. Typical of this type of apparatus is the vehicle straightening assembly disclosed is U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,084 wherein a continuous ring-like anchoring track is floor-mounted to encircle the vehicle and enable a counteracting tensioning force to be applied at one point on the vehicle to offset a pulling force exerted at an opposite repair point on the vehicle.